Post to the Globe and Mail today

The Globe and Mail had an article on the softwood issue: Softwood deal to move forward, and I thought I'd contribute my $0.02. Specifically I took issue with Stephen Harper's claim that there was a “clear majority” in the country that now supports the government's softwood lumber agreement with the United States.

I'm honestly wondering who this "clear majority" is. The last time I checked a week ago it looked like this deal was going to fall apart, and without any significant announcement of changes, all of a sudden we're all on board? "Mr. Harper did not say what percentage of Canada's softwood lumber producers signalled their support for the deal" so for all we know, support could be at the very same level. Sounds a lot like perception management, instead of actual results to me.

For what it's worth, I think we should get out of NAFTA entirely, as the US has shown total disregard for its agreements and procedures. As should be totally clear by now, the US is pro Free Trade so long as it only benefits them.

Having a mugger steal from you and return 80% of the haul with conditions like "don't go to the cops" and "I reserve the right to mug you again real soon" isn't a deal in any sense of the word I know - it's capitulation.

The rest of the comments seem to back me up on this one as well.

For those of you who would prefer to watch video - Rick Mercer has a very funny explanation.